Support for traditional medicine in China goes right to the top. President Xi Jinping has called this type of medicine a “gem” of the country’s scientific heritage and promised to give alternative therapies and Western drugs equal government support. Now the country is taking dramatic steps to promote these cures even as researchers raise concerns about such treatments.

From early next year, traditional Chinese medicines may no longer be required to pass safety and efficacy trials in humans in China. Draft regulations announced in October by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) mean traditional medicines can skip such costly and time-consuming trials as long as manufacturers prepare ingredients using essentially the same method as in classic Chinese formulations. The State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the CFDA will compose a list of the approved methods.

The Chinese government has been forcefully promoting traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) as an alternative to expensive Western drugs. Doctors of Chinese medicine have welcomed the new policy, saying that it will make it easier for companies who produce such medicines to get drugs approved and make them available to patients. Lixing Lao, director of Hong Kong University’s School of Chinese Medicine, says that although traditional medicines will no longer need to go through clinical trials, the CFDA will still require remedies to undergo preclinical pharmacological testing and drug-toxicity studies in animals or cells to gain approval.

Oct 21, 2017

NEW DELHI: Breaking convention of appointing bureaucrats as secretary, the government on Wednesday appointed an Ayurveda expert to the AYUSH ministry. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, who was appointed the special secretary in June this year, has been made secretary in the AYUSH ministry, according to an official order. The three-year tenure of Mr Kotecha, a former vice-chancellor of Gujarat Ayurveda University in Jamnagar, will also include his term as special secretary, the order said.

Last year, a World Bank expert Parameswaran Iyer was the first lateral induction in the government as secretary of the department of drinking water and sanitation. But Mr Iyer, who is leading PM Modi's Swachh Bharat initiative for rural areas, was not really an outsider. He had started out as an IAS officer but kicked his job after a foreign stint to remain with the World Bank.

Making room for Mr Kotecha is Bihar cadre IAS officer of the 1983 batch, CK Mishra, who was the health and Ayush secretary. He will be the new environment secretary, in place of senior IAS officer Ajay Kumar Jha, who will now be the new expenditure secretary.Mr Mishra will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change as early as Thursday.

Mr Mishra was appointed the Health Secretary in July last year. He recently received the award on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the best department for its contribution during 'Swachhta Pakhwada', an inter-ministry initiative of the Swachh Bharat Mission.Instead of Mr Mishra in the health ministry, Preeti Sudan, a 1983 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, will assume the role of secretary.Prior to this, Ms Sudan has served in various capacities in the Union Ministries including Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Defence. She is currently Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.With inputs from PTISource: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-rare-move-ayurveda-expert-appointed-secretary-of-ayush-ministry-1761811

Oct 10, 2017

Considering the representations made by the Ayurveda industry, the GST Council has slashed goods and services tax (GST) rates for the unbranded (classical) Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy medicines from the present 12% to 5 %.

The reduction in the tax rates has come for a total of 27 items including classical Ayush drugs and certain food preparations.

Tax rate for food preparations put up in unit containers and intended for free distribution to economically weaker sections of the society under a programme duly approved by the Central government or any state government, has been reduced to 5% from the present 18%.

The decision to this effect came in the 22nd GST Council meeting held under the chairmanship of the Union finance minister on 6th October, 2017.

According to industry sources, 90 per cent of the ayurvedic products now available in the market are branded ones (proprietary drugs) and this reduction will not fetch any good result to the industry as it will benefit only the classical drug manufacturers.

Sep 7, 2017

West Bengal: After deliberating over the issue of allowing AYUSH practitioners to prescribe modern medicine, the state government of West Bengal has now decided to give them a go ahead, permitting certain practitioners of the Indian System of Medicine to practice modern medicine, but with some riders.

The approval comes in the form of a notification from the Health and Family Welfare Department ( AYUSH Branch), Government of West Bengal that declared that the persons holding qualifications specified in the second schedule to the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and duly registered under the concerned state council in West Bengal, shall be entitled to practice the drugs of modern medicine in the state.

However, the notice has specified that the said permission is limited to the drugs those mentioned in the schedule A below, to the extent of training imparted to them as per the syllabus prescribed from time to time by the Central Council of Indian medicine under the aforesaid act of 1970.

Jul 29, 2017

An Indian American professor, Kattesh Katti, and his research team at the University of Missouri have partnered with Tamil Nadu-based company Dhanvantari Nano Ayushadi in hopes of revolutionizing Ayurvedic medicine.

Ayurvedic medicine, also called Ayurveda, is a holistic medicine system originated in India thousands of years ago that uses herbal compounds, special diets and other healthcare practices to further help conventional preventative and disease treatments, according to a Missouri news release.

Katti and his team have developed a non-toxic delivery method using gold nanoparticles that may revolutionize Ayurveda, the news release said. His technique for producing the nanoparticles was licensed by Dhanvantari Nano Ayushadi.

The medicine uses different combinations of chemicals from natural herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables in combination with metals such as gold, silver and copper, the university said

The combinations strive to treat a number of disorders.

“In the past, metals predominantly used in holistic medicine have been crushed and burned; caregivers grind the ash with herbs to produce an ingestible treatment,” Katti, the curators distinguished professor of radiology and physics in the MU School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Science and senior research scientist at the University of Missouri Research Reactor, said in a statement.

“However, the ways in which those metals are procured often involve mercury; other toxic means to extract the gold or other alloys can be deadly if ingested in the wrong amounts. The gold nanoparticle production methods use a green technology that effectively eliminates the toxicity associated with these treatments,” Katti added.

The research team developed green nanotechnologies to produce phytonano medicines — the compounds used to form Ayurvedic medicine. The therapies are less toxic to the body and could provide alternatives to current treatments for diseases including cancer, arthritis and diabetes among others, the news release noted.

The technology is patent pending.

“These successful production runs within the DNA premises and the efficient training of our personnel fully fulfill the requirements signed in our contract,” Abhaya Kumar Jain, chief executive of DNA, said in a statement.

“We look forward to a long-term working and collaborative relationship with Dr. Katti and his team as we collectively advance the field of nano-Ayurvedic medicine to develop the next generation of health care products for the care and treatment of patients across the world,” Jain added.

Research and product development using the green nanotechnology techniques developed in Katti’s lab will continue at the facility in India, according to the university.

Using Indian Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy guidelines, DNA will continue to test formulations that could provide complementary therapies to chemotherapy, radiation and other traditional treatments, Katti said in the report.

“We are excited that two great minds, Mr. Abhaya Kumar Jain, a pioneer in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, and Professor Kattesh V Katti, globally recognized as the ‘father of green nanotechnology,’ have come together to bring nano-Ayurvedic medicine technology to India,” Anantkumar Hegde, an elected member of the Indian Parliament, said in the report.

Added Katti in the report, “The nano-Ayurvedic medicine approaches are built on rigorous scientifically validated methods. I am excited to be a part of this important journey using nano-Ayurvedic medicine approaches for treating, healing and curing various diseases. I have always dreamed of helping humanity through my science, I can now see that I am able to use my interdisciplinary green nanotechnology approaches for the development of Ayurvedic products.”

Jan 4, 2017

Cordial invitation to the Ayurveda Practitioners of Bengaluru to "Bhishak Sangama (Bengaluru Ayurveda Practitioners' Meet and one day seminar on Ayurveda clinical practice)" being held on 20th Jan 2017 Friday at SDM Institute of Ayurveda and Hospital, Anchepalya, Mysore Road, Bengaluru - 74. Intended to become a platform to refresh the knowledge of classical guidelines for the Ayurveda clinical practice and to share the clinical experiences with the members of fraternity. Please spread a word to reach out the interested practitioners of Ayurveda based at Bengaluru. Register soon!